Boot lid stopped working - MY21 Passat Alltrack

[PDRx]

The boot lid stopped working yesterday on our 2021 Passat Alltrack.

It worked when my daughter opened it at school to put her bag in, and it wouldn’t open when we got home.

It unlocks and pops loose from the latch, and then makes a short beeping kind of noise. It seems like the lifting struts failed.

We’ve had some rain recently and the car was outside. I looked for leaks, but didn’t look under any panels which would require removal or lifting. I didn’t find any moisture.

In anyone’s experience could the issue be moisture related, given the cars are notorious for leaking?

The car has about 3400km on it, and will be going to the dealership to resolve the issue, but it’s a bit disappointing, considering we’re adding problems to the list without fixing any of the existing issues.

[ope126]

Any of the straps from the school bag get caught in the lock mechanism at all?
Can you lift it manually?
I assume you have now locked / unlocked the car. Turned off and now restarted?
So is it working now or no?

[PDRx]

Yes, the car has been restarted a couple of times, with a fair amount of time in between at least one of the restarts as it’s been standing overnight.

I can’t say 100% something didn’t get caught in the door as I wasn’t there, but it is very unlikely as my daughter has the habit of putting her bag on her back, and then pressing the button to close the lid while clearing out. She’s actually pretty good at it.

While you can open and close the lid manually, it feels odd. We opened it to get stuff from the trunk. There’s a little resistance, and definitely no assistance from the lifting struts.

And it’s still stuffed.

[ope126]

Shame...
Looks like a trip to VW then!

[Guest001]

This can happen if someone was leaning against it or holding it when it was opened. Sometimes can be fixed by lifting it manually to top height. There is instructions in manual if I remember correctly on how to reset it

[PDRx]

Thanks, I’ll see if I can find anything in the manual too, but it’s off to VW in the morning.

[PDRx]

Failed modules found, replacement parts ordered, and will probably take 4-6 weeks to arrive at VW Indooroopilly.

No root cause could be identified, so it must have been dodgy from the start.

[ope126]

Thanks for the update!

[PDRx]

So the boot lid was fixed with the struts being replaced, and worked for about a month. The car is heading back to the dealership tomorrow for the same issue as before.

We left the boot lid open for about half a day while at a sporting event over the weekend. We were using the load space as an equipment work area.

The boot wouldn’t close with the first attempt to do so at the end of the day, but pressing the close button on the key a second time caused it to close after a brief down and back up motion.

It opened and closed fine when we reached home that evening, but refused to open the next morning. The lid unlocked, and then made the same beeping sound as before.

It hasn’t worked since, so it’s back to the dealership. While it’s there we’ll hopefully get some feedback on the issues with the entertainment system, as well as sorting out a nasty rattle in either the door or the b-pillar.

[ope126]

I have had the Drive Units replaced on my previous Passat 140TDI (due to noise, not functionality).

When you have experienced these issues, I assume you had the ability to "manually" override and open / close the boot?

[PDRx]

You end up having to force the boot lid, unfortunately. It’s not moving under power.

We’ve dropped the car at VW, so we see what they come back with.

[PDRx]

We got the car back for two weeks, and then it’ll be back to the workshop for what could be a three/four day stint.

No error codes or issues detected with the diagnostics, but the new struts modules are dead too. They lasted almost a month.

They’re thinking there’s an issue elsewhere which is causing the failure of the modules. Apparently this means starting at the back of the vehicle, pulling the wiring harnesses and electronics out, following its routes towards the front of the vehicle, inspecting everything as they go about it in the hopes of finding the issue.

[Guest001]

Probably unlikely but the micro switches in the locks have a reputation of failing and while they sound like they have unlocked they havent. Had similar in our Polo. Sounded like it worked but didnt and the light in the boot didnt work.

A $23 lock from AliExpress fixed it. Does sound like yours also has other problems though, but if lock was jamming may have burnt out the modules.

[PDRx]

The boot unlatches and pops open when you press the open button and locks when you press it down, so I think the micro switches may be okay?

[PDRx]

The Alltrack has been with VW since Monday morning, so three days now. No idea yet on the cause of the issues, nor is it fixed yet, but the car is apparently very different from the previous models. There’s no error codes to go by.

I was told the wiring looms changed such from the previous model that the service folks, being familiar with the previous model, removed some of the panels expecting to find wiring and control components, and there’s nothing!

So now they’re awaiting assistance from Germany…